Activists accused the Peruvian government Thursday of trying to block an alternative conference planned to coincide with an EU-Latin America summit next month.
Indian activist and conference coordinator Miguel Palacin said the government has also tried to paint the organizers of the People's Summit, scheduled to open May 13 in Lima, as linked to violent radical groups.
"We are not violent or anti-summit," Palacin said. "We are an organized society of social movements with legal standing in this country and we want to participate."
Palacin said the government blocked the event from taking place at sites including a public orphanage, a city park and the national stadium.
He said the rector of a local university also declined to hold the conference, citing "political pressure." The rector's office did not return phone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde denied that the government opposes the conference or has tried to block venues.
The organizers "are asking the government to give them (a site)," Garcia told CPN radio. "The government is willing to provide security ... but I'm not going to go looking for a venue for them."
People's Summit organizers say presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador and Evo Morales of Bolivia have said they will attend if the conference is held in a safe location.
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